They staked a lot on RT and they can't really let it fail. I think they'll push it and try to leverage it using their other products. The problem for them is that the market it sells to don't really care about their other products, so no big stick to wave.

Exactly. The market they're being sold to doesn't care what OS they're using, as long as the price is right.

IOW, there are thousands of Android tablets available at lower price points now, and the end user only cares about the basics (can they use it for Facebook, Instant Messaging, basic Internet Browsing, playing Content from Netflix,YouTube, etc.), which tons of different Android based tablets can do for them at very low price points.

So, why would they want to spend $400+ for a Windows RT based tablet when a $200 tablet running Android does everything they need?

That's where there is a huge disconnect between Windows RT and lower priced tablets running Android (users shopping for tablets in that market niche are not going to see the point in spending a lot more to get a tablet running Windows RT versus Android).

As for performance differences, heck, some of the phones running Android now have processors that are faster than the Micrsosoft Surface tablets running Windows RT. So, there is no good reason to buy a Microsoft Tablet in the eyes of most consumers, since lower priced offerings running Android do more than they need anyway.